Previews

The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

EA busts out a Japanese-style role-playing game that's developed in the west and firmly rooted in Middle-earth.

Spiffy:

Cool crossover with the movies' events; fine use of materials from New Line and WETA; popular gameplay style.

Iffy:

Some may find the gameplay too derivative; the battles shown lack the flare of the ones found in many modern RPGs.

I know what some of you are thinking. You're all, "Here it is. EA is slapping The Lord of the Rings on a Japanese-style role-playing game (RPG). There's no way an American developer can do this right." And while The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age does indeed appear to be Final Fantasy X-3: Gimli's Adventures, it's shaping up to be a really strong RPG that makes excellent use of the source material. Furthermore, the team behind it contains several ex-Square talents. There's a very good chance that The Third Age will be one of the best Japanese-style RPGs made by westerners.

The Third Age takes place concurrently with the events in the movies. Many of the major events and battles in the movies also happen in the game. There are also plenty of nifty crossover occurrences that have a more subtle tie in. For example, your party will face off against the Nazgul that were swept away in a rush of water by Arwen during The Fellowship of the Ring.

EA is being tightlipped about the plot at this time. What's known is that your party is on a mission to find Boromir and prevent the fellowship from brining the One Ring to Mount Doom. Eventually you discover that your mission is false and that your party has been manipulated by Saruman. Expect further plot details in future previews.

I! Have! The Power!!!

Your party is comprised of six members. In the early portions of the game you control Berethor (a Gondorian), Hadhod (a Dwarf), Idrial (an Elf), and Elegost (a scruffy-looking ranger dude). Later on in the game, two characters from Rohan join your ranks. Even though interracial adventuring is uncommon in Middle-earth ("We are not as fortunate in our friends as you."), the developers included a variety of races to add diversity to the skills and abilities of each party member. It also connects players more to the movies by allowing them to play as archetypes of the characters they saw on the big screen.

At certain points in the game you'll get a seventh "guest" character. Gandalf will be unleashing fearsome spells at your side. Aragorn will cleave orcs aplenty with your party. Legolas will be surfing shields and applying makeup while your team is busy fighting. Getting to play as and control the powerful characters you saw in the movies bumps the coolness factor of the game up a notch.